


If honest means telling you the truth, well I’m still in love with you

by Meaninglessmeaningless



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24738178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meaninglessmeaningless/pseuds/Meaninglessmeaningless
Summary: Katie and George were supposed to be together forever. Then the War happened and Fred died.Now George is with Angelina, and Katie is with Oliver, but it’s just not quite right. A chance meeting propels them into each other’s lives again with wonderful and difficult consequences...
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, George Weasley/Katie Bell, Katie Bell & George Weasley, Katie Bell/Oliver Wood
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> All credit for the original characters and world to JK Rowling. The Cursed Child isn’t real.  
> I do not approve of or support JK’s revisionism of the original books nor her recent transphobia. As a cishet woman I don’t know what it’s like to be anything but that, and that’s why I have mainly focused on the heterosexual relationships in this story.  
> Always happy to learn and amend where I have made mistakes or cause offence. Let’s be as loving and accepting as the books made us want to be.

January 2002

"Ange, I need to go. Are you ready yet?” George Weasley paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair.

Today was an important day; he had to give a presentation to some American wizards about why they should sell Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes in the US, and he simply couldn’t be late.

Angelina was supposed to take the kids to nursery this morning. They were too young to travel by side-along apparition, so had to be taken by Floo which took twice as long. He couldn’t afford to waste the time it would take to get them to nursery; he had to be at the American office in five minutes.

“Almost ready, Fred,” Angelina called down the stairs. George gritted his teeth - that was the third time this week. “You can just leave the kids and go, they’ll be fine.”

Only they wouldn’t be fine. Fred and Roxie had a habit of starting tiny magical fires if they weren’t watched. At only two they were every bit as mischievous as George and his long-deceased twin had been.

Footsteps upstairs informed him that Angelina was now ready. She hurried down the stairs a second later, calling the twins.

“Daddy’s got to go out now. Come and say goodbye.”

Two small bodies collided into his legs with the force of a baby rhinoceros.

“Be good today,” he told them. “No changing people’s hair colour, okay?”

They looked up at him, identical angelic grins on their young faces.

“Okay Daddy.”

“Right, well I’d better be off,” George looked over at Angelina.

She frowned, tilting her head.

“Your hair’s a bit messy,” she said. “Come on kids.”

And with that she bundled the twins off into the kitchen for some breakfast, leaving George in the hallway feeling like an afterthought.

“I’ll be back by 5,” he called. “I love you.”

His words bounced back to him in the hallway. He waited for a moment, hoping for a response. Then he shrugged into his coat and disapparated.

***

“Look what I’ve got…,” Oliver Wood dangled the latest copy of Quidditch Weekly in front of Katie Bell’s face.

She shrieked in surprise and leapt about a foot in the air. Several other people in the Leaky Cauldron turned and stared.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that!” She swatted his arm. “Are you trying to kill me with shock?”

Oliver chuckled and sat down opposite her. “So you don’t want to know the team listings then? I can just throw this in the bin….”

“Of course I do, you idiot,” Katie rolled her eyes at Oliver. He was always such a showman.

“Well then, let’s see,” Oliver crossed one leg over the other and shook the magazine open officiously. “Oh that’s interesting,” he said airily, “and oh, that’s a bold choice.”

“What is it?” Katie asked, trying to peek over the top of the magazine.

Oliver flicked it up out of the way. Katie sighed, waiting for him to stop being so dramatic.

“Hmm,” Oliver read on. Then, “Oh dear…,” he frowned at Katie over the top of the magazine.

“What is it? Why are you frowning at me?” She leapt up impatiently. “What’s happened? Have they picked Davies instead of me?”

Oliver shut the magazine and put it on the table between them.

“Perhaps now isn’t the best time,” he said.

Katie scowled at him and snatched the magazine, rifling through the pages.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Oliver said, an unusually unreadable expression on his handsome face.

There it was! The team listings - it was horrible that they had to find out the results this way. And Oliver had seemed to suggest… well, it didn’t bear thinking about!

Katie scanned the page quickly. Ah, Puddlemere United; this was it. She ran her eyes down the list. Keeper, Oliver Wood… Chasers… Katie Bell! She was in the first team!

She looked up at Oliver, who had a massive grin on his face, and threw the magazine at him.

“I’m going to kill you!” She laughed, throwing her gloves and scarf at him as well. “I thought I’d been benched!”

“It was just too much fun pretending you weren’t in,” Oliver smirked, throwing the gloves back at her. “And your reaction was great.”

“You’re so mean,” Katie pulled a face at him.

“But I’m pretty hot so that makes up for it,” Oliver grinned at her. “Shall we go celebrate?”

“So modest too,” Katie laughed. “Sounds great, what do you have in mind?”

“Oh I can think of something,” Oliver said, winking at her suggestively. “Shall we get out of here?”

He stood up and offered his arm to Katie.

“Excellent plan, Mr Wood,” Katie giggled; today was a good day.

***

George stared morosely into the bottom of his glass. He and Angelina were at The Leaky Cauldron for a drink before meeting her parents for dinner, and so far he hadn’t spoken to her for more than two minutes. She’d spotted a couple of colleagues when they had arrived and had disappeared to speak to them for a while, and then had gone to the bathroom for going on twenty minutes now.

His mind returned to that morning when she had called him Fred again. It was a fairly regular occurrence and often he shrugged it off as the typical mother forgetting names thing; he had been called by all of his brothers’ names throughout his childhood and who could blame Molly for getting confused? Lately though it had him wondering whether Angelina had just stayed with him because he looked like Fred.

But that was silly thinking. It was nearly three years since Fred died, which was more than enough time to get over the loss of him. For George it was certainly enough for the majority of the time; there were fewer and fewer occasions where he paused halfway through a sentence expecting his twin to finish it, and he rarely got sad at his reflection in the bathroom mirror anymore.

Angelina was fine, he was sure. The weirdness in their relationship was probably due to having two toddlers occupying all of their time and not letting them have any time together.

Still, he missed feeling the warmth of her, even just a hug. It had been a long while since he had held her or felt close to her, and he wondered whether that was the reason for the distance between them.

There was a loud jangling as the door of the pub swung open, hitting the bell above it. In tumbled a crowd of 15 or so people, talking and laughing loudly. George looked around and realised he recognised several faces; it was the Puddlemere United team busy celebrating. As they surged towards two of the big tables in the middle of the pub, the group thinned a little and he caught a glimpse of a familiar blond ponytail. It was Katie Bell.

Goodness he hadn’t seen her properly for almost two years, about the time she had started dating Oliver Wood. She’d popped in to the Burrow a few weeks ago to drop off a Christmas gift from her parents to his, but he’d only been picking up Fred and Roxie so hadn’t had a chance to speak to her.

She was standing next to Oliver, laughing at something he had said as she accepted a butterbeer from another teammate. Oliver has his arm around her shoulders and when she wasn’t looking he slipped the bottle out of her grasp and took a swig. Katie jabbed him with her elbow, looking mildly annoyed.

“Oh look, it’s Oliver!” Angelina appeared next to him. “We should go and say hi, it’s draft day so he’ll know if he’s on the team for this season.”

“Really? We’ve not seen him for a while,” George said, not overly keen to join the loud group.

“Well exactly,” Angelina said, giving him a confused look, “we used to be good friends at Hogwarts. Come on.”

Without waiting for him she took off across the pub. George followed reluctantly.

“Oliver, hi,” Angelina smiled, opening her arms for a hug. “How are you? And Katie, nice to see you,” she added, smiling over at Katie.

“Ange, George, long time no see,” Oliver grinned. “We’re great, just found out that this little lady made the first team.”

He reached round and patted Katie square on her behind. Katie smiled, though she still looked rather annoyed.

“Wow congratulations,” Angelina smiled. “Isn’t that great, George?”

“Yeah, brilliant news,” he said quickly.

Katie looked at him properly for the first time, an unreadable expression on her face. George felt strangely uncomfortable having this cheerful conversation as though none of their shared history existed.

Katie looked away first.

“Thank you, it’s such an honour to be on the first team,” Katie smiled at Angelina. “How are you guys doing? How are the twins?”

“We’re doing well,” Angelina said, “the twins are just growing and growing. George had a meeting today with an American company to market his products over there.”

“Oh that’s really exciting George,” Katie said enthusiastically, looking back at him. “Did it go well?”

“Yes I think so, hopefully we will be able to have an international store.”

“That’s so great! Wow, you’ve come so far from a mail order service out of your old bedroom,” Katie smiled.

George was struck by a sudden memory of that summer; he and Fred sitting on the floor of their bedroom with Katie, sifting through order forms. Testing new products with Katie sitting against the door so Molly wouldn’t burst in and shout at them. The three of them sitting down for dinner with the rest of his family, trying to ignore the pain that the Fever Fudge-induced boils were causing. What a summer that had been.

“Thank goodness,” Angelina said. “It’s such a relief that we don’t have all of that around the house. Fred and Roxie would cause a lot of trouble if they got into it.”

George glanced over at Oliver who wasn’t looking quite so jolly anymore; he was watching Katie with a slight frown on his face. The conversation dropped and George felt uncomfortable again.

“Well,” he said, trying to shake the feeling, “it’s been lovely to see you but we’d better get going. We’re meeting Ange’s parents for dinner in a few minutes.”

“Going anywhere nice?” Oliver asked, looking at Angelina.

“That new place up by Gringotts,” George said.

Oliver didn’t look at him.

“Yeah we thought we’d try it out,” Angelina agreed. “It looks pretty nice.”

“You’ll have to let us know what it’s like,” Oliver said, still steadfastly ignoring George.

“I’m sure we will,” George said, wondering what was wrong. “See you soon then, enjoy your evening.”

As he and Angelina left the Leaky Cauldron George couldn’t shake the feeling that he had done something to offend Oliver.

***

Katie watched them go, feeling oddly uncomfortable. It was strange to see George and Angelina after so long, and it had felt quite normal for the most part. What then was this nagging feeling in her stomach that something was wrong?

“Let’s get another drink,” Oliver said, abruptly jerking her out of her thoughts.

“I’ve still got one,” Katie said, but she caught sight of the irritation in Oliver’s eyes so followed him away from the team.

“What the hell was that?” He demanded as soon as they were out of earshot.

“What was what?” Katie asked slowly, confused.

Oliver’s mood was a long way from how relaxed and happy he had been earlier that afternoon as they lay in bed together.

“You bloody well know what!” Oliver snapped. When Katie continued to stare at him blankly he elaborated further; “You, staring all gooey-eyed at George!”

Katie’s face was a picture of disbelief.

“Gooey-eyed?” She echoed, a touch of amusement in her voice, “What in Merlin’s name do you mean, Oliver?”

“Don’t play dumb, Katie,” Oliver retorted forcefully. “You guys had that big romance at Hogwarts and then Angelina swooped in and took him. You can’t tell me you don’t still have feelings for him!”

“Ol, that was like three years ago, don’t you think I’d have moved on by now?” Katie said exasperatedly. “I have moved on, remember? I’m with you.”

“And you’re not lying to me?” Oliver asked sceptically.

“Of course not!” Katie snapped. “Oliver, you’ve been thinking I’m still in love with George the whole time we’ve been together. If I was, I would have told you by now.”

“Okay,” Oliver said finally. “I’m sorry. It just felt like you were acting strangely when we spoke to them.”

Katie sighed, taking hold of his hands and pushing away the feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“We’ve had a really nice day, let’s not spoil it with any more arguing. Shall we get some FireWhiskey?”

And it wasn’t until later, in their little flat with Oliver sleeping deeply by her side, that Katie remembered how deeply wretched she had felt when George abandoned her. But she was absolutely positive that she didn’t have feelings for him anymore; she loved the hotheaded, gorgeous Quidditch player lying next to her. Of course she did.

Far away, in the sleepy little village over the hill from the Burrow, George lay awake too, listening to the sound of Angelina murmuring in her sleep. She softly whispered ‘Fred’ into the darkness, and George felt his heart sink a little further. Not for the first time did he wish that Fred was still alive; at least then Angelina would be happy.


	2. Chapter Two

December 31st 1999

Katie took another glass of Firewhiskey from the drinks table in the corner. At least Lee and Alicia had provided plenty of alcohol. She couldn’t think how else she would have been able to endure this evening otherwise.

Across the room Angelina was proudly showing off photos of her three month old twins, next to a dazed-looking George. Katie had glimpsed one of the photos earlier as it did the rounds of the group squeezed into Lee and Alicia’s lounge; already the twins had red hair and freckles. Katie had felt sick.

That was supposed to be her future, her with the chubby ginger babies and the loving looks at George.

She hadn’t seen George or Angelina since last summer, and she’d spent the last few months bracing herself for their inevitable meeting now that she was back in London. It was every bit as bad as she had told Charlie it would be. She felt an urge to go find him and say ‘I told you so’, but what was the point? It wouldn’t change anything.

She tossed back the Firewhiskey, standing unsteadily to escape. She’d drunk more than she realised, and as she left the room, she noted with a hazy interest that she couldn’t quite walk in a straight line.

Outside, in the hallway, she leant against the wall, not noticing Oliver Wood until he spoke.

“Sucks, huh,” he said, slurring his words slightly. “Hate bumping into an ex at a party.”  
“Yeah,” Katie mused, wondering who he was referring to; Oliver had had quite a reputation in school. “I hate parties.”

She shifted her gaze from her shoes to his face, vaguely surprised at how close his face was. Drunk and angry was never a good combination to be, a point nicely proven when he swayed towards her, mashing his lips against hers in a surprisingly passionate kiss.

Inside the lounge, the rest of the party began to chant, counting down to midnight. Katie couldn’t think beyond Oliver’s hands at her waist.

“Happy New Year!” everyone cried, and a moment later, “Oliver, we should get going!”

Oliver’s teammate’s voice preceded his arrival and Katie and Oliver separated quickly, straightening their respective clothing.

“Come on,” James Frobisher continued, “we’ve got an early practice tomorrow. New recruit, remember? Though Merlin knows why practice has to be the day after New Year’s. Hi Katie,” he added.

Oliver nodded.

“Okay. Um, see you around, Katie,” he said to her, holding her gaze before following James out of the party.  
Katie watched him go, a stunned smile creeping across her face.

***

The next morning came far too early for Katie. She rolled out of bed, groaning at the awful hangover that was threatening to make her collapse straight back into bed. Luckily her Mediwitch flatmate knew a spell to get rid of hangovers, so by the time she got to the Puddlemere United training grounds she could stomach the fresh air.

“Team, this is Katie Bell, our new Chaster,” the head coach addressed the Puddlemere United B team. “And Katie, this is;”

He introduced each of the team in turn.

“Sam Davis, Beater. James Frobisher, Beater. Kerry Logan, Chaser. Tom MCKinnon, Chaser. Ella Abercrombie, Seeker. And Oliver Wood, Keeper.”

Katie met Oliver’s eyes, stomach turning in embarrassment. She was sure her cheeks were turning red.

“Okay, well now you know everyone, let’s get to discussing some plays,” the head coach clapped his hands together, leading them over to a large board.

Katie found herself standing next to Oliver. Before she knew what she was doing she leant over and whispered;  
“Last time I saw you, you were a little more… friendly.”

He blushed faintly.

Later that morning, as the team walked back across the pitch to the changing rooms, Oliver turned to her.

“Is it uncool if I admit that I really want to kiss you again?”  
“Well,” Katie pretended to think about it. Really there wasn’t much to dwell on, Oliver was hot. “I suppose not. I live next door to Luna Lovegood, pick me up at seven?”

And that was that. Maybe drunk and angry hook-ups were pretty good after all.


	3. Chapter Three

February 2002

Katie woke up alone on Valentine’s Day. This wasn’t unusual - often Oliver was up before 6am to get in a run and stretching before daily practice - but part of her had hoped that maybe he had planned something special for Valentine’s. Maybe he had something at the club.

She rolled over and checked the clock on her bedside table. 7.30am, she’d overslept. She leapt out of bed and hastily through on the nearest clothes she could find, before rushing through to the kitchen and searching for something to eat.

Katie was halfway through buttering some toast when she heard a tapping on the window. She looked up and saw Ginny’s tiny owl holding a small envelope and flapping furiously.

She pushed the window open and let Pigwidgeon land on her shoulder as she took the envelope and opened it.

Hi Katie,  
Just wanted to share some exciting news, Harry and I are engaged! We’re having a party at the Burrow on Saturday to celebrate, can’t wait to see you!  
Love, Ginny

Katie grinned to herself, how like Harry to propose on Valentine’s Day. She grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a quick note back.

Congratulations! Looking forward to celebrating with you on Saturday!  
She gave the letter to Pig and then shooed him out of the window. Would Oliver want to go? He’d been so weird about George the other week; George was bound to be there on Saturday.

But she was late already, no time to wonder about Oliver’s feelings right now. She grabbed her kitbag and disapparated.

***

“Who’s going?” Oliver asked, frowning at the envelope.  
“I don’t know, Ginny didn’t say,” Katie shrugged. “Obviously Harry and all the Weasleys I’d imagine, probably a bunch of Hogwarts folks too.”

Oliver just looked more unimpressed.

“It’ll be fun,” Katie said. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen any of them, it will be nice to catch up. They're getting married!”

Oliver muttered something inaudible.

“What?” Katie asked. “Oh don’t tell me this is about George again, you’re being ridiculous.”  
“It’s not ridiculous,” Oliver glowered.  
“Yes, it is,” Katie said firmly. “We broke up years ago. You need to stop, please. It’s unfair of you to assume that I’d do that to you.”  
“Ok, I’m sorry. You’re right,” Oliver said finally.  
“It’s okay,” Katie said, giving him a smile. “Anyway, look, this is for you.”

She handed him the Valentine’s card she’d stashed in her locker for safekeeping. He looked confused.

“What’s this for?” He opened the card and looked embarrassed. “Oh I’m sorry Katie, I completely forgot.”  
“It’s alright,” she said quickly, masking her disappointment.  
“It’s not,” he said firmly. “I’m a terrible boyfriend. I’ll make it up to you, I’ll cook something special for dinner tonight, okay?”  
“Okay,” Katie forced a smile.  
“I’ll see you later,” Oliver leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll be back about six.”

Katie nodded and walked out of the locker room, feeling annoyed. Stupid Oliver, getting cross about something that didn’t matter, forgetting Valentine’s Day. She wasn’t even particularly bothered about Valentine’s but it was something nice to do when you were in a relationship. She should have known really, Oliver never really went for the romantic stuff. Normally it was okay, but once in a while she wished he’d buy her flowers or tell her she was pretty.

Her mind drifted back to Valentine’s Day in sixth year. She’d woken up to her entire dormitory filled with flowers and fluffy cushions shaped like hearts. Her uniform was pink, everything was pink. Leanne had thought it was adorable, but Katie knew better. When she came down the stairs into the Common Room, George was waiting for her, trying to look nonchalant.

“Morning,” he said innocently, “how are you on this totally normal and boring day?”  
“You’re an idiot,” she had told him, laughing.  
“Didn’t you like it?” He had pretended to look sad, before laughing too and turning her uniform back to her normal colour. “I thought about decorating the Great Hall with ‘I heart Katie’ decorations but I knew you’d kill me. So this is for you.”

He produced a much more subtle and less pink bunch of flowers from behind his back.

“They’re charmed to last forever,” he had said, smiling. “Now you can’t get rid of me.”

Katie had felt her heart melt. “As if I would,” she had smiled back, hugging him tightly.

But that was a different time. Katie shook her head, she couldn’t expect Oliver to act the same way.

***

As the days rolled on to the weekend, Katie found herself looking forward more and more to the party. She was excited to see Ginny, and since bumping into George a few weeks ago, was also looking forward to spending more time with him.

Oliver seemed quite cheerful too, and Katie was glad. Hopefully he was over whatever grump he had been having for the last few weeks.

When they arrived at the Burrow on Saturday evening the party was already in full swing. Music was floating through the windows and the shadows of lots of people moved back and forth.

Katie pushed open the door without knocking - she’d practically lived her every summer from the age of 5 and it felt like home to her - and found herself face to face with someone she had not expected to see here.

“Charlie Weasley! What are you doing here?” She asked, surprised.  
“Hello to you too, Bell,” he grinned, hugging her. “I’m just back for a week, I didn’t make it home at Christmas so thought this was a perfect excuse to come home.”  
“It’s great to see you,” Katie said. “How are the team? And the dragons?”  
“Pretty good, February’s always quiet as you know, so they’re rebuilding the infant enclosures. Got to tear down all that shoddy work you did a while back,” Charlie said, nudging her with his elbow.  
“Wow,” Katie said, pretending to be offended. “I worked hard on those. I can’t believe you’re already tearing down my masterpiece.”

Charlie chuckled, and then spotted Oliver behind her.

“Hi mate, how’s it going?”

Oliver smiled and slapped him on the shoulder cheerfully.

“Charlie, Romania treating you well?”

Ginny darted out from the lounge and gave Katie a huge hug.

“Congratulations!” Katie said excitedly. “I’m so happy for you! When did it happen? Can I see the ring?”  
“This morning,” Ginny grinned, holding out her hand for Katie to see. “He made me breakfast and it was just there, hiding in between the pancakes.”  
“What a cutie,” Katie smiled. “When are you planning to get married?”  
“We’re thinking September, it gives us a while to plan it and enough time to talk Mum out of making me wear a meringue.”  
“Good plan,” Katie said, thinking of the monstrosity Molly had got Ginny to wear at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. “You might have to lock her in a cupboard between now and then though.”

Ginny and Katie laughed at the thought.

“Come on, let’s get you a drink,” Ginny led Katie through into the party.

Katie had never seen the Burrow so full. Everywhere she turned there were people, perched on chair arms, tables, the stairs. There were friends of Molly and Arthur - most of the Order it looked like - as well as probably half of Hogwarts. Over in the corner she saw Dean and Seamus chatting away to Luna and Neville, and caught a glimpse of a small turquoise-haired boy tearing through the party followed closely by two tiny ginger twins. She looked around and caught sight of a harried-looking George looking for his errant children. Angelina was deep in conversation with Alicia, and totally oblivious it seemed.

Several hours later Katie was beginning to feel sleepy. She extracted herself from a conversation with Dean and Seamus and wound her way through the crowd to find the bathroom for a brief moment of quiet. The downstairs bathroom was occupied so she squeezed through the partygoers sat on the stairs and headed up to find a free one.

It was quiet on the second floor and she almost jumped out of her skin when the door of Fred and George’s old bedroom swung open with a loud creak.

“Sorry,” George whispered, carefully shutting the door behind him. “I was just checking on the twins.”  
“Finally got to sleep?”  
“Thankfully yes,” George nodded. “Now I can properly enjoy the party.”  
“It’s pretty loud down there,” Katie said. “I think Ron’s started singing with Hagrid. I’ve come up to find some peace and quiet.”  
“Do you want me to go?” George asked.  
“I’ll allow you to stay,” Katie smiled, sitting down on the floor.

George sat opposite her, leaning against the bedroom door.

“How’s work?” Katie asked, as George asked “How’s practice?”.

They both stopped, embarrassed.

“You go first,” George nodded at her.  
“Oh, um I was just asking how work is?”  
“Pretty good,” George said. “It’s good having Ron to help, it was so busy over Christmas so it’s nice to have a quieter period.”  
“Are those love potions not so popular anymore?” Katie asked, remembering the chaos when Ron had accidentally taken one in her seventh year.  
“Ron insisted we stop selling them,” George said ruefully. “He thought they were too risky.”  
“Probably wise,” Katie said, “there were so many plots to feed them to Harry that year you made them.”

George laughed.

“How are you finding the A team?” he asked her. “Is it weird to be on the same team as Oliver now?”  
“It’s basically exactly the same as being on the B-team,” Katie said. “Same 7.30am practices, same grumpy coach. Thankfully quidditch Oliver is different to home Oliver, so it’s not too weird.”  
“I remember quidditch Oliver,” George chuckled. “If he was like that all the time I’d be wondering why you were dating him.”

Katie paused, feeling awkward. It was a good question sometimes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound rude,” George said, mistaking her silence for annoyance.  
“It’s okay,” she said, brushing away her awkwardness. “You’re right, I’d probably have murdered him by now, I remember coming very close to it a few times at school.”  
“Those 6am practices were not fun,” George agreed. “Do you remember when we put Bulbadox powder in his kit?”  
“He was so mad,” Katie nodded, laughing. “Almost as much as when we hid his broomstick for a week.”  
“Angelina wasn’t much better in seventh year,” George said. “Fred had to try so hard not to prank her, I think they’d have broken up if he’d done anything to ruin Quidditch.”  
“He was a brave man,” Katie said. “Few have taken on Angelina and survived.”

They sat there in silence for a minute.

“She’s better now,” George said after a moment. “Roxie and Fred have made her a whole lot more patient.”  
“That’s good,” Katie smiled, trying to push away the awkwardness she felt.  
“We should probably go rejoin the party,” George said, standing and holding out his hand to help Katie up.

She took it, feeling her breath catch in her throat, and let go as soon as she was standing up. 

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll put my party face back on.”

As they entered the busy lounge Katie was aware that there were three pairs of eyes on them. Oliver, Angelina, Charlie. Two annoyed, one concerned.

She turned and went into the kitchen, pushing open the back door . She stood staring out into the dark garden, trying to make sense of the strange feeling in her stomach. Why did she feel so odd?

“Everything alright?”

Katie turned to see Charlie in the doorway.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m just a bit tired of the party.”

Charlie sat down on the back step and gave her that look, the one that said ‘you’re lying and I know it’.

“It’s been a while since you saw George, huh,” he said. “How are you doing?”

Katie sighed and sat down next to him.

“It feels kind of strange. I’ve not seen him for so long it feels like talking to a stranger.”  
“And how are things with Oliver?”  
“Fine. I think. He got really weird when we saw George and Angelina a few weeks ago, but I think he’s fine now.”

Charlie looked at her, eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you happy with him?”  
“Yes? Maybe? I don’t know,” Katie sighed. “Your mum keeps asking me if we’re going to get married, and honestly I don’t know if I want that. Not with him anyway.”

They sat there in silence for a while, the sounds of laughter and talking quiet behind them.

“How are you? Have you told them yet?”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I told them last week.”  
“How did they take it?”  
“Pretty well I think. Mum’s a bit upset she won’t have any grandchildren from me, but she’s got five other kids who will probably have them. Bill said he’d figured it out years ago.”  
“I’m proud of you,” Katie said, slipping her arm round him and giving him a hug.  
“I wouldn’t have told them if you hadn’t been so supportive,” Charlie said. “You're a good friend.”

Behind them there was a creak as the back door swung open.

“There you are,” Oliver said, “I’ve been looking for you. I want to head home.”

Katie stood up; he sounded annoyed.

“Okay, let’s go. See you later, Charlie,” she said, and followed Oliver back through into the party. Oliver didn’t seem keen to stick around to say goodbye, so Katie waved across the room to Ginny before following him out the door.

Oliver strode across the driveway. Katie ran to catch up, reaching him as he turned round and snapped;

“What the hell was that?”  
“What now?” Katie snapped back. “Oliver, you’re drunk.”  
“So? That doesn’t stop me seeing you mooning all over Charlie, making me look like an idiot.”

Katie laughed, she couldn’t help it.

“Seriously? First George, now Charlie. What is wrong with you? Charlie is like my brother!”  
“You spent all that time together in Romania,” Oliver said angrily. “What am I supposed to think when you’re having secret conversations outside?”  
“That I’m catching up with an old friend! Yes I spent time in Romania but he didn’t make a single move on me. He sees me as a sibling, nothing else.”  
“Fine,” Oliver said. “Well what were you doing upstairs with George? I saw you.”  
“Seriously?” Katie growled.

She looked away, furious, searching for what to say.

“I went to find some quiet because the party was so loud. I bumped into George, he had a conversation. That’s all.”

Oliver said nothing, looking moodily at the ground.

“What, you don’t trust me?” Katie asked. “That’s rich, coming from the guy who slept with half the girls on the quidditch teams! What have I ever done to make you think that?”  
“I see the way you look at George!” Oliver exploded. “How do you think that makes me feel?”  
“I don’t look at him in any way!” Katie yelled. “I cannot believe you’re accusing me of something. I’m staying with my parents tonight, I’m not doing this now. Let me know when you get over yourself.”

She turned away, feeling tears spilling out of her eyes, and disapparated before he could say anything else.


	4. Chapter 4

April 1999

It was cold at the Sanctuary. The wind whipped across the valley, winding its way between the buildings and enclosures, creeping through gaps in windows and under doors.

Charlie trudged back down the hill to the sanctuary, holding the weekly stack of letters in his hands. He liked the walk up the village each Saturday, it was sometimes nice to get away from the smell and the intense bachelor atmosphere of the sanctuary, even with the six female staff who now lived on site.

He liked to see the look on his colleagues’ faces when they rifled through the stack and found a letter bearing their name. And he enjoyed the anticipation of walking back, the weather too cold for him to take off his gloves and check to see if he had any letters of his own. It made the incoming post more special.

He got back to the mess hall, dropping the stack on the table and pulled his gloves off, breathing a sigh of relief as the fire warmed his fingers.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, flipping through the pile of letters. In the middle of the pile he found one addressed to him and one to Katie. He recognised the handwriting on his as his mother’s and the one on Katie’s as Ginny’s. He’d sit and read his before dropping hers off in his cottage so she could read it later. She’d been bunking in the spare room in Charlie’s cottage and the two of them had settled into a comfortable rhythm. They took in turns to cook, and both knew when to give the other some space. She’d always been like a little sister to him and this time together had developed their close sibling-like friendship even more.

Charlie opened the letter and began to read, smiling at the updates about his family; Fleur’s morning sickness, Percy bringing home a girlfriend, Ron and Ginny finally finishing up their final year at Hogwarts, George and Angelina pregnant.

Wait.

George and Angelina were having a baby? Charlie felt his stomach lurch. He had to tell Katie. But how could he tell her that?

He remembered her coming to Romania last August, pale and sad, unable to talk about the hurt she was feeling. It had taken weeks for her to smile, and months for her to even talk about George.

Charlie knew she wasn’t exactly happy now, but she was okay, keeping busy at the sanctuary and with the team in Bucharest. He couldn’t bear the thought of her going back to that broken shell of a person she had been. But he couldn’t hide this news from her, she’d find out soon enough.

He stood up, pulling his gloves back on and went out to find her.

***

Katie sat by the lake, looking out at the frozen waters, the clouds rapidly speeding across the bruised sky above. It had snowed overnight and her feet were cold inside her boots. She’d been in Romania for almost ten months now and the weather still surprised her.

The weekends were quiet at the Sanctuary; most of the staff headed home to their families and those who lived on site mostly kept to themselves. That suited Katie. She spent the week practicing with the Bucharest quidditch team, and her weekends were often filled with matches in the B-league, so it was nice to have quiet days by the lake.

Katie hadn’t heard much from home in the few months she had been away. Ginny wrote fairly often, thankfully never mentioning George, and her parents wrote weekly, asking her how training was going. As far as they knew she had been offered a great position on the Bucharest team, even though she hadn’t finished her schooling and that was too good an opportunity to pass up on.

It was partly true, it was a good opportunity. But of course it wasn’t the reason she had fled here last August.

Sitting by the lake reminded her of lazy Saturdays with George by the Great Lake at Hogwarts, listening to him and Fred concoct mad plans and great inventions, feeling as though nothing could ever go wrong.

She pushed the memory away, tucking her scarf more securely into her coat.  
It was getting easier to forget times like those, as much as she hatedit. It was getting easier to accept the fact that George was happy and she was alone.

“Katie?”

Charlie’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see him heading over, holding what looked like a letter.

“What is it?” She asked; he looked worried.

He sat down next to her, twisting the letter between his hands.

“Mum just sent this,” he said quietly. “Katie, I’m so sorry. Angelina is pregnant.”

***

Katie was silent for a long time, her face turned away. Charlie wondered whether she was crying, but when she finally looked at him, her eyes were dry.

“What do I do now?” She asked, and she looked so empty.

Charlie sighed and inwardly shook a fist at his stupid brother. This has been no way to treat Katie, not a single part of it. And yet, he supposed George and Angelina must be happy, so there was only really one thing for Katie to do.

“I guess,” he said heavily, “you take the time and you move on.”

She gulped and he saw tears begin to roll down her cheeks.

“But how?” She asked, looking at him pleadingly. “Charlie I don’t know how to be okay about this.”

There was nothing Charlie could say, no words to fix this, so he did the only thing he could and wrapped her in a tight hug. They sat there by the lake until they were too cold to stay and Katie had stopped crying. Charlie wondered whether she would ever be okay.


End file.
